chanscd. The cultivation of flowers sccmo 

 now to be the only certain Industry iu this 

 region. But the figures show what the ollvu 

 may do toward the support of a people In a 

 region mat an American would regard as 

 almost barren and uninhabitable. A hec- 

 tare on sloping ground is expected to con- 

 tain 20u olive trees; on the plalu only 12.V 

 The following has been reckoned as the 

 cost of culture In the Maritime Alps for a 

 hectare containing 150 trees, the harvest 

 being biennial, a>id the expense divided 

 between the two years: 



Spading tlic trues (50 days at 60 cents), 



one-Lnlt. S12 5O 



Mnni.rini,' un 6O 



Topping and pruning 16 on 



GathCttUK IS 00 



Total JU8 00 



This, representing the cost of one year, or 

 half the harvest, must be doubled for the 

 whole of it. The product of a hectare In 

 good seasons is estimated at 450 double 

 decaliters (.-) 2-5 gallons), which at 60 cents 

 gives $27O, half of that amount being the 

 annual value of tbe product per hectare. 

 Deducting the cost of culture (?68) and 

 there remains, $07 net profit per hectare. 

 It must be remembered that other crops 

 can be cultivated among the olives, or that 

 the orcnands can be used for pasture. The 

 profits are divided among the proprietor 

 and the tenant In a manner that need not 

 be specified. Since these statistics were 

 tabulated tho ravages of the fly and worm 

 have caused many proprietors to devote 

 their lands to the cultivattou of cereals or 

 other crops, and the quality of the oil has 

 deteriorated, and consequently commands 

 a less price. But the figures showing what 

 tbe Industry has been and what it may 

 again become retain their value. When it 

 is in an ordinary state of prosperity 11 Is In 

 France more proiitable than the culture of 

 either cereals or the vine. Since the dete- 

 rioration ol the olive the exportation of oil 

 from Nice lias continued by uniting with the 

 product of the country Imported oils from 

 the Riviera, Naples, and from the Adriatic 

 coast of Italy, near Bari. 



IN OTHR DEPARTMENTS. 



In tbe department ol Var, next west of 

 the Maritime Alps, there are 127.0GO acres 

 in the olive, that Is to say, one-half its area. 

 It Is the district of which Toulon Is tho 

 great seaport. The land given to the culture 

 is not so valuable, it being held six or eight 

 years ago at a little over $400 the hectare, 

 and has since, owing to the diseases of tlie 

 tree, decreased. The department has suf- 

 fered severely, not only irom the failure of 

 this industry, but from the destruction of 

 Its vineyards by the phylloxera. The vine 

 has nearly everywhere throughout the de- 

 partment been torn up to give place to other 

 crops. The cultivators of the olive have 

 alto complained bitterly of the competition 

 which they are obliged to contend with in 

 the adulterated oils made and exported 

 from Marseilles. An increase in the price 

 of labor has also seriously aflected the In- 

 duitrv. The annual expense of cultivating 

 the o'live and making the oil is estimated 

 at S72 50 per hectare, the biennial pro- 

 duct at 220 gallons tho hectare, worth $2-1 

 the hectoliter (22 gallons); which gives a 

 net profit of $47 00 per hectare. 



In the department of Bouches du-Rhone 

 (Marseilles', tbe olive is cultivated iu or- 

 chards and lu rows among the vines. The 

 trees are small, and also the fruit, though it 

 is of good quality. II the harvest were cer- 

 tain th preparation of the oil and of edible 

 olives would be a profllable industry, ine 

 price ol cultivation is from 5O to nearly 

 800 the hectare, and ihe mean price ol 

 olives 4 francs the double decalitre (five 

 a d two-filths gallons), lu Gard the de- 

 partment lying west and northwest of MM; 

 ffi es, the olive has been partially repUced 

 01 the mulberry. It lies nearer the Ce- 

 and has suffered severely from all 

 the severe winters of the present century. 

 According to recent statistic., there were 

 omy about 13,000 acres in the olive lying 

 principally about the ancient cities of 

 Nimes Uzes, Alais and Vigeru, and yielding 

 in annual product valued at six or seven 

 million lrar.cs. There are in the depart- 

 meiit 237 oil mills. The annual value i of 

 Reserved olives is 850.OOO or $00,000. 

 TheprofUH arising from the olive culture 

 are not so gr.at as in the departments 

 already mentioned. The principal alien- 

 "on or the people of the province of Herault, 

 of which cine is the metropolis, which .lies 

 next west on the Mediterranean is given 

 o the vine Still the olive is cultivated for 

 us oil and for preserving, which constitutes 

 "cSn.W.r.bi/lndu.tr,. Greer .olive, sell at 



Bonches-d;. :;hone, IIS); "Corsica, 375; 

 Herault, 2i!i>; Gard, 8O3; Pyrenees- 

 Orientals, 171; Basies-Alpet, 142; Vau- 

 cluso, '-'.M : Aii'io. 220; Drome, 2-17; Ar- 

 deche, 27H. Mean yield per hectare, 2(12 

 liters. France has barely 400.OOO acre in 

 the ollvo, produclns; quite recently, accord- 

 ing to the estimated mean, about too liter. 

 per acre a very low estimate for California, 

 where the soil is so rich and the climate so 

 favorable. Italy has now in olive orchards 

 probably not Ies than 1 ,500,OOO acres, and 

 the superficies is constantly Increasing. 

 Thirty-one communes lu the province ct 

 Lucca produce 1,320, OOO gallons. Romo 

 and vicinity con.ume nearly all the produce 

 of the district. In 18(15 Sicily alone ex- 

 ported 66.000.0OO pounds. A recent 

 estimate, far too low for the present, gives 

 the entire produce of olive oil iu Italy at 

 30,200,000 gallons, valued at $40,OOO,OOO. 



ADULTERATED OILS. 



In the articles written on the culture of 

 the olive and the manufacture of oil little 

 has been said about the falsifications carried 

 on princlpelly at Marseilles, because it has 

 been thought more Important that tbe 

 Americans should know better how to pro- 

 duce a good article than a bad one. The 

 adulteration, like those of wines, are well 

 known to every intelligent person In 

 France, and only those whose trade would 

 be injured try to conceal them. Honest- 

 merchants of Marseilles freely acknowledge 

 the practice. It must be confessed that the 

 temptation to falsify is very great, tho de- 

 mand for good olive oil continuing while 

 tho sources of supply are gradually dimin- 

 ishing. There is a penalty for every kind 

 of adultero-lon in France, but it makes no 

 more difference with tho adulteration of 

 oil than with that of wine. Fortunately 

 imitation olive oil cannot be made, like 

 wine, by the barrel, by mixing a little 

 alcohol with certain liquids and then color- 

 Ing and flavoring the compound. There 

 must always be a percentage of tlie eenuine 

 product to give the resemblance. Tbe 

 snphisticator is always limited in his Imita- 

 tions by cost, peculiarities of tastes and 

 color, etc. The oils that cost less arecotton- 

 ssed, peanut, poppy, sesame, rapeseed and 

 colza. Peanut oil and oil of colza are some- 

 what objectionable on account of pecul- 

 iarties of taste, but are used. The first pre- 

 serves usually the distinct flavor of the nut 

 and does not keep well. Chemists have 

 various means of testing olive oil. They 

 introduce air and judge by the bubbles. 

 They Introduce tubes to mark the cap- 

 illary attraction, or they drop the oil on 

 water to observe tho forms which it as- 

 sumes. The point of cotiRallation indicates 

 the character of the mixture. The various 

 kinds of oils congeal at the following tem- 

 perature, centigrade: 



Pure olive... 2.6 degs. 



I Peanut '2.0 degs. 



Cottonseed., 2.O (legs. 

 Bsame 6.0 degs. 



Colza 6.0 (legs. 



Ha -elnut 1O.O degs. 



Poppy lS.Odegs. 



Walnut 27.0 degs. 



product Vwth $100, though the oil I. soul 



t a low price. The entire crop of the 



island is worth not less man ? 1 > d y";y"ft 



Each tree brings. to its owner a_rent ol^O 



OT1IKR TESTS. 



There is a resemblance between the first 

 and second, but where olive and peanut oil 

 are mixed lumps having the appearance of 

 sand form and are deposited at eight de- 

 grees. At four degrees the olive oil becomes 

 thick and the lumps remain suspended in 

 the liquor.. The power of conducting elec- 

 itrictr is a means employed, pure olive oil 

 conducting 675 times leu rapidly than the 

 others. The tests based on the relative 

 density ol oils are thought to have tne 

 greatest precision and are the most used In 

 commerce, little floating instruments. like 

 the alcoholometer being uaed. These in- 

 struments are so graduated that seventeen 

 degrees indicate pure olive oil and twenty- 

 five degrees poppy oil, which is much 

 denser. There being eight degrees between 

 these two extremes, if the instrument sinks 

 to eighteen degrees It makes an eighth mix- 

 ture, and so on. By means of it the density 

 of all other oils as related to olive oils are 

 shown. Other in.truments are sometimes 

 u.ed and various chemical devices are re- 

 sorted to that do not need to be explained 

 hero. Theoils most used by the adulterators 

 at Marseille! are cotton-seed, peanut and 

 colza. The first is preferred as colorless and 

 absolutely tasteless. Of the vast quantity 

 imported into France principally at this 

 port none appears as an export. 'When ex- 

 ported it is iu the form of olive oil. Cotton- 

 seed oil has the merit of keeping well, in 

 which it differs from peanut oil. which In 

 many respects is a valuable article ot com- 

 merce, and should be made in California. 

 Vegetable oils for illuminating or otuer 

 purposes should be made ou the Pacific 

 coast from the grains, nuts or fruits grown 

 there. All of them would find a ready 

 market, and might easily bo made into a 

 special industry. 



HOW THE ANC1EN-T3 PRESERVED THE OLIVE. 



The preservation of tho olive to be used in 

 some form as an ar'icie of diet has b!:en 

 known Irom tlie most ancient Urnea, ine 

 Latin poet Horacr used to eat It just as it 

 ripened on the trees, and he has though this 

 preference worth mentioning in onu of his 

 odes Other Latin poets allude to olivei in 

 complimentary terms. No one now thinks 

 an olive picked up under a tree has the pies? 

 nnt taste of the oil. The olive produced by 

 different localities in Italy hd each its 

 special reputation. The Romans had not 

 all the habit o.' eating their olives raw, Imt 

 on the contrary preserved them in a variety 

 of ways. Instead o! trying to extract the 

 natural bitterness they often disguised it by 

 addins; aromatic herbs or other sut^tan-es 

 whose names were forgotten i,ntil they were 

 diligently looked for by clusnical scholars 

 Here is a recipo found in i olumella: iho 

 olives gathered In September or Octouei 

 were first bruised, then soaked in w:irui 

 water, strained, and put into a vne wuli 

 fennel, lentislt and turned salt, which 

 waa filled up with very new must, 

 cooked wine or v, ater sweetened with. 



honey This was one method. A , 

 wts to give a preliminary bath in I rme. 

 then to drain and put into an amphora with 

 fennel afterward fillinc up with mixture 

 of must and brine. Si^ietimes instead of 

 homing the olives they were cut in pieces. 

 There were otliur methods of treatment 

 Sometimes tuey were muserated in i-ieon 

 oil with leeks, rue, smallago, mint and a lit- 

 tle vinegar, honey or wine. Sometimes tne 

 fruit was mixed with salt, fennel, lenllsk 

 and weak vinegar added. Forty days Rflcr, . 

 when tho bitterness of the olives had been 

 taken out, the juice was removed and re- 

 placed with three parts of cooked wine and 

 one of vitiegar. If one prefeired, the olives 

 after having been beaten were put into a 

 mixture of brine and vinegar. If It was 

 dsilred to preserve the green color they 

 had when gathered, the wine was replaced 

 by oil of prime quality. When the olives 

 were gathered nearer maturity there was a 

 slight variation of the process, but there 

 was a close resemblance between ail tna 

 methods, and they are much like those still 

 practiced in some parts of Italy and Spain. 

 Olher recipes afe so much like these mat it 

 is mnmoessary to give them. The Latins 

 had received their recipes from Greece, 

 'where from the most ancient times It seems 

 to have b?en the practice to preserve olives 

 In a brine flavored with fennel seeds. 

 Vinegar was also from remote times used. HI 

 well as salted water. As among the Ro- 

 mans, different places in Greece or in the 

 'Grecian islands were celebrated for their 

 edible olives. 



MODERN METHODS. 



It will be observed from this statement of 

 ancient methods that there has been little 

 progress made in the manner of preserving 

 the olive. At the end of the last century 

 green olives were preserved by bruising 

 them slightly and soaking them fur nine 

 days in water several times renewed. 

 Warm water acted more rapidly. At the 

 end of that time they were put in brine. 

 The kinds which grew sweet as they 

 ripened were dried iu the sun like figs, put 

 in baskets and seasoned with salt or pepper 

 as they were needed. As In .ancient limes, 

 lye has also been used in Italy to take out 

 the bitterness of the olive, the limit being 

 the ease with which the fruit became de- 

 tached from the stone. When drawn from 

 the lye they are washed and put iu a briue 

 made of water iivwhlch about 1O percent 

 or salt has been dissolved. In the south of 

 France fennel or coriander Is sometimes 

 added to the pickle, or the stone Is taken 

 out and a bit of anchovy and caper put in 

 its place, in which case the olives are pre- 

 served in oil. There is a similar practice 

 among the Bordeaux merchants. Tlie stone 

 of the crescent olive is punched out and a 

 little forcemeat put in by hand. Although 

 the preparation of edible olives is nowhere 

 an industry comparable with that of the 

 oil, still, in th^ departments of Gard and 

 Var the trade in them Is considerable. In 

 the Bouches-du-Rhone little is done in this 

 line, the varieties picholine and rentato. 

 generally cultivated there, not being suited 

 to the purpose. The Spanish olives are larger, 

 and when seen on the tables of the hotels 

 of Madrid and Barcelona, they look appetiz- 

 ing to the visitor. But they are touch and 

 comparatively tasteless, and if be tries them 

 he is sure to demand the smaller ones, 

 which are tenderer and better in every 

 reipect. The center of tbe Industry iu 

 edible olives in Spain is at Seville and 

 Cordoba. The olives are gathered green 

 and kept five or six days in salt or strong 

 br*ne to prevent their decaying, the brine 

 being flavored with thyme, garlic and bay. 

 Methods are somewhat varied. Out Spain 

 has not a great deal to teach to other 

 nations in respect to any of its industries. 



THE OLIVE EATERS. 



The extent to which the olive is used 

 varies greatly in aide rent countries. In 

 northern countries it Is used chiefly as a 

 relish eaten by itself, or as a sauce, season- 

 ing or slutting for meats, fowls or game. It 

 is on the tables of tne rich what the French 

 call a tiors d'ceuitre that is, a side dish or 

 table superfluity. But it is far otherwise 

 with the poor in the south of Europe, to 

 whom it is an Important article of diet. In 

 ancient times tho poor made an entire meal 

 of bread and olives. It is still the same In 

 some parts ot Europe, where a peasant 

 thinks himself prepared for a journey with 

 a piece of bread under his arm and a hand- 

 ful of olives in his pocket. In Southern 

 Italy no meal Is made without olives. The 

 olive merchants pass regularly at supper 

 lime through the poorer quarters of the 

 city. It Is the Spanish habit to eat olives at 

 the end of a meal, but not too many. Three 

 or four are usually thought enough, or if 

 they are very good one may eat a dozen. An 

 Italian author recommends tbe preserving 

 of Spanish olives that is, of those grown 

 on Italian soil but prefers those called 

 Saint Francis, which is common at Ascoli, 

 where it attains tho size of a walnut. It is, 

 however, generally agreed among gourmet* 

 that the smaller olives are best for eating. 

 The manner ot treatment has. nevertheless, 

 perhaps, something to do with the coarse 

 quality of the Spanish olive when found In 

 tho Peninsula. Olives are preserved in Italy. 

 as elsewhere, in weak lye or brine. They are 

 also bruised, stuffed in the Bordeaux man- 

 ner or dried. In Eastern countries, whence 

 the olive came, the fruit forms still an im- 

 portant article of diet. A traveler relates 

 that he found delicious a meal ot ggs, 

 olive, and grapes offered him by the monks 

 of the monastery of Mount Llbanui. It is 

 traditional In the Catholic Church that tlie 

 monksliving In the desert led principally 

 on olives. Throughout Turkey. Asia Minor, 

 Greece and other countries about the Medi- 

 terranean, the olive has remained as in 

 the mo>t ancient times, a substantial 

 article of food and a necessary means of 

 exiitonc* to the tolling millions. 



t'n' 



